Top Innovative Funding Methods

Contents

Lana

Adopt-a-Dewey

Adopt-a-Dewey is a program were local residents volunteer to maintain a particular library Dewey section. The idea is an adaptation of the Camden County (New Jersey) Library’s “Adopt-a-Shelf” program where volunteers volunteered to tidy up a specific shelf. Where Adopt-a-Dewey diverges is that it pairs volunteers with their reading interests, so if someone comes in who is interested in religion, she can be assigned the 200’s (Religion).

The Ojai Library, a branch of the Ventura County Library near Santa Barbara, California, has a long running and successful Adopt-a-Dewey program. In their case, the collection is divided into ten Dewey categories and six sections for fiction, mysteries, romances, and reference. The program coordinator can work with the volunteers to identify a particular section that will interest the volunteers. Volunteers are asked to make an hour commitment at least once a week, however they can come in at their convenience while the library is open to tidy up their sections. This includes making sure the books are in correct shelf order and are neatly placed on the shelf. Additionally, any books that need repairs are pulled and given to a library staff member. The Ojai Library advertised these opportunities with an ad in the local newspaper and a library flyer and their pilot program filled up in just three weeks. In addition to giving back to their local library, volunteers may also find some good books to read.

This idea came from group member Sarah Feldman’s brainstorming during a class she took at Simmons College GSLIS course “marketing the library” in which Sarah came up with the idea that libraries could create remote kiosks where patrons could email letters of support to their government representatives. These kiosks could be in popular community locations or businesses and would offer patrons the opportunity to locate their representatives using CapWiz and then compose either personal letters or use a preassigned form letter. Some of the complications worth noting though, are whether these stations will be restrictive to only this task or if library patrons could also book internet/computer usage on them as they would with a public library computer. Additionally, security concerns are in place for the equipment, which would need to be locked down. Finally, libraries would have to find businesses and other locations willing to host the kiosks. Another option which would be more economical is for the kiosks to be paper only by offering form letters and a locked box for the completed letters to be dropped into; volunteers of the library would next locate the appropriate government representatives and forward them along.

Sarah

Library Wishing Wells & Donation "Boxes"

According to Marketing Agency Teamspirit, one in five adults regularly throw change into wishing wells, amounting to millions of dollars each year!(1) Wishing Wells are common in museums, malls, department stores and tourist attractions why not tap into this easy, low maintenance money making installation. There are a handful of libraries ranging in size that have had success with wishing wells. The Champaign Public Library in Illinois reported profits of over $1,500 from their spiral well in 2001 and the Palmer Public Library in Massachusetts recently generated about $2,300 from two vortices towards re-carpeting the library campaign. There are a number of vendors that offer spiral wishing wells starting at about $1,000 or your library can invite local artists or hold a community contest to design and construct a wishing well. If you are planning a renovation or new building why not take it to grander scale and create a wishing well like Downtown Reno’s Public Library’s wishing well displayed below. Often patrons pay small fines and are quite willing to toss their change into a well to support the library and at the same time make wish. This is a fun way to raise funds without soliciting patrons in an aggressive manner and it promotes itself, requiring minimal signage. Divnick International, one vendor of spiral wishing wells, yielded $7,352.39 in one day from their product for a small school in Oregon!

A simple suggested donation box placed strategically in the library is also a promising source of revenue. The Central Seattle Public Library has two donation boxes, one at each entrance of the library, with an attractive sign that reads:

Your Gift Means the Difference between Good Libraries and Great Libraries

Seattle Public Library Foundation

Though SPL’s donation boxes generate only a few hundred dollars a month, a small amount for a large library with daily traffic ranging from 4,000 to 14,000 visitors a day, SPL Development Office hope that the boxes “gently” create public awareness that libraries are in need of financial support resulting in a greater likeliness of making financial contributions when approached via telephone or by direct mail.

Try to be creative with a donation container at your library. Denver’s Road Home Project, a program to end homelessness in Denver and the National Aquarium in Baltimore has taken ordinary parking meters as receptacles for donations.

Another approach is to partner with another organization to purchase and install a well or donation box outside the library like a Supermarket, Town Hall, Restaurant or have a mobile well or donation box that can be set-up at one at your community’s farmers market or annual fairs.

Advocate for your state to begin a public library fund in which private funds are matched by public dollars. Libraries, a necessary service for all communities, obtain the majority of funding through public dollars and supplement with private fundraising. Private funds assist in renovations, new building projects and pilot programs and are generally used to add onto existing services and resources. But private funding can endanger public funds if they become “too successful” and we certainly do not want to become dependent upon solely private sources and risk evolving into a private non-profit institution. Public Library Fund legislation established in Massachusetts encourages libraries to raise private funds so that profits are matched with public funds. It was designed so that every private dollar is matched with 50 cents from the Public Library Fund. Robert C. Maier, Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, said, “The purpose of this program is to provide a matching incentive for funds raised by local trustees, library foundations and library Friends groups from non-municipal sources for the enhancement of library services beyond those provided through municipal funds.”(1)

This was the first year Massachusetts libraries were able to apply for the fund which consisted of only $250,000. Even though the state fund matched only 5 cents to every private dollar, it is what Mass Senator Edward Augustus refers to as “the seed money.” The simple fact that one could inform donors that their funds would be modestly matched by public funds provided an incentive for both donors and fundraisers. After the bill was passed, many local papers reported on the increase in state aid for libraries and produced a buzz creating opportunities for library communities that do not already have a friends group to form one. Donating, in any form, is more attractive when it is matched.

Details about the bill:

The money is not restricted by time or use. In other words the fund can be used in anyway the library sees fit and does not have to be used for the year of distribution. This year the use of funds ranged from additional days of operation, new furnishings, security camera to downloadable eaudiobooks. To be eligible for public library funding a library has to raise at least $2,000 and caps at $100,000.

The fund is based upon the success of the Massachusetts Public Education Fund which matches private funds raised by Massachusetts public University and College foundations. In FY08 their budget was $13 million and has the same 1:2 ratio of public to private funds matched. The bill developed out of the fact that it is hard to raise private funds for public institutions but when a public match is introduced, many donors are more likely to contribute.

This is the type of bill that legislators are likely to support since it encourages the library to find funding outside the public sphere and creates a partnership among the private sector.

Siobhan

Eating At the Library

Eating at the Library:
People love an excuse to eat, so why not combine it with a fundraiser at your local library. Here are examples of food and friends mixing.

Books2Eat - is an international movement for folks to enjoy food and books! Entries include cakes that are themed like the participants’ favorite tomes. Books2Eat International (www.books2eat.com) has the following rules: the event must be held on or near April 1st, all edible books must be "bookish" through the integration of text, literary inspiration or, quite simply, the form, and organizations or individual participants must register with the festival’s organization (go to Registration) and see to it that the event is immortalized on the international festival website).

Have a chowder/chili contest. Recruit local volunteers to make chowders or chilis to share with the general public. Charge a small entrance fee for the public, and have the public vote for their favorite soup with dollars, not ballots. The entry with the most money in its pot is the winner – and so is the library! This idea came from the Swan’s Island First Annual Chowder Cook-Off last year, and it was a great success.

Ally with Restaurants! From Washington State, and Page Ahead (pageahead.org), an organization that provides new children’s books to families, restaurants donate a certain percentage of their revenue on a given day to the Page Ahead program. Similarly, other programs, like Darby’s Restaurant in Belfast, ME, set aside a table and donates 10% of the bills collected to a local charity.

New Books through Partnerships

Since libraries are always looking for ways to increase their books budget, check out these ideas for working with local business on finding funding for books:

Michael Baldwin suggests in the May 2006 edition of American Libraries that ALA participate in a One Nation/One Book program. He further suggests that ALA negotiate with publisher for as much as 50% of the profit from the sales.

Barnes& Nobles donates 25% of their profits to the Massachusetts Library Association during the weekend of National Library Week. The catch is a customer has to have a “coupon” dispensed at Massachusetts Public Libraries through a week or so before the scheduling weekend. Look for other bookstores to fund similar projects.

To keep the fundraising going, actively work with your bookstore, and your patrons and collect their “rewards points.” Many patrons don’t use their points, so have a drop box for them to drop off points, or have them have the option to donate the points to library right at the counter.

Romina

Endowments

Library endowments can make it possible to purchase extra books, fund new programs and technologies, or positions. Endowment campaigns can often be a long process, but the rewards are great, namely being able to secure the financial future of your organization. Organizations can decide depending on the wealth of the community they serve and on their own needs how large or small initial donations can be to set up endowments. Academic libraries such as Davidson College Library in North Carolina (Park 2000) have funds beginning as low as $500 for book purchases. In the case of an endowment campaign the goal amount would be in the millions, and therefore, the process of cultivating donors and acquiring funds would be longer and more laborious.

Endowment funds offer an organization a great deal of flexibility, because unless specified by the donor, they can be used to fund the changing needs of the library. However, it is important to remember that endowments should be used to supplement not supplant funding from state and local governments. Endowment monies should not go support the general operating budget of a library, but rather towards funding special projects, programs, technology purchases, book purchases, etc. Items that will contribute to the continued excellence of service that a library provides.

Working towards an Endowment Fund whether your amount is $500 or $5 million following these steps will help you achieve success in your campaign:

The library needs to establish an entity separate from itself to receive and administer the funds.

Friends Group organized as a non-profit corporation, a trust, or a foundation

Establish a board for the foundation so that they set policies, interpret the goals of the library, and serve as advocates and leaders for the fundraising campaign

Recruit members for the board that will be able to raise money and give money themselves

Decide what the fund will be for, i.e. purchase of equipments, rare books, special collections, programs, or services. Or will it be an endowment campaign.

Donors like to know where there money will be going and are more likely to give when there is a specific goal.

Plan the fundraising campaign

Identify key community and business leaders

Feasibility Study

Identify potential donors

Market your plan—write an article in a local newspaper/newsletter; create a brochure describing the program, featuring samples of established endowments or of things that can be done

Thank your donors—send yearly thank you letters informing them how their money has helped the library or specific project; list their names in annual reports; have a plaque in a conference room where their names as listed as funders; maintain in constant contact as they might give you more money in the future or can bring in other donors

Can be started with as little as $500—promising the donor that one-per-year-every year will be purchased in the name of the endowment

Additions to the fund can be made at any time—when another $500 has been added to the fund, 2 books will be purchased per year

Donors can specify an area in which books can be selected, in which, case the library will honor the wishes. If there are not specifications then the money will be allotted to the purchase books selected by the librarians in any subject area.

All books purchased from a fund will have a bookplate indicating the name of the donor

Donor recognition might include: thank you letters; list of endowed book funds in the annual report or library website; framed bookplate is sent

Libraries and librarians need to follow the lead of other non-profits such as the American Heart Association and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation who have been able to have been able to successfully brand and market their causes (Hempel 2006). Libraries need to follow their lead and partner with big business that will support the cause and create a buzz about the value and importance of the library within the communities and the power that it has to change people and the communities that they serve.
By creating a buzz, making the mission and value of libraries more visible with the use of billboards, public service announcements that are televised on the national level and creating announcements that are for the web only. Marketing the library’s importance to the community will attract donors and will maintain open the dialogue about how to better fund the library so that it can provide “excellent” service.
What do we market on the national level?

Our staff—trained professionals who are ready, willing, and able to help you—

Our Resources—Databases vs. the web

Importance of libraries in literacy

Library as an open university

Tips (Sass 2002):

Have a budget for advertising

Develop creative Public Service Announcements that are catchy, fun, and have the potential to attract younger generations

Billboard/ad campaign in buses with phrases that challenge the way people normally think about the library—